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South African GT3 racing star Jordan Pepper and his Italian co-driver Andrea Caldarelli clinched the 2021 Fanatec GT World Challenge America championship in their K-Pax Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida, USA on Saturday. Pepper and Caldarelli then added a ninth dominant win to their title tally in the second race on Sunday.

Caldarelli put the K-Pax Lambo on pole position for Saturday’s opening race and opened a commanding early lead before handing the car over to Pepper, who cruised home to win the race of attrition by half a minute. That saw Pepper and Caldarelli to an insurmountable 76-point championship advantage to wrap up the championship with two races left to run. The duo swapped roles as Pepper started and Caldarelli then took the flag for their ninth win of the season on Sunday.

"Sebring has come and gone. “It was a dream weekend for sure!” a delighted Jordan reflected. “We came here knowing that we could clinch the championship, but it was never quite as simple as that. “This was a new track for us and never being here before, we were not sure what to expect. “It went better than expected though — we struggled a little on Friday but we worked hard together as a team to turn it around.

“A pole position and a third place in qualifying was a good start on Saturday. “Then we just went for it in the first race and left what happened behind us to be. “That all worked out well as we clinched the title on Saturday already! “My last twelve months have not been easy since we heard the sad news that Bentley was closing its factory program. “That also meant I was out of a job. “So to turn that around into winning this title, really is something special for me.l

“We also had a great race on Sunday — I started on old tyres when everyone else around me was on new rubber, so we knew it was going to be tough. “I managed to keep it in third and then we undercut the Merc when we pitted to get Andrea back out in the lead. “And it all went very well from there. “It really was a dream weekend and we also proved that we can turn things around and always be a threat.

“I just can’t thank my K-Pax Racing team enough for all the trust they put in me, and to Lamborghini for what it has done for our program. “Now we are really looking forward to the Indy 8 Hour against the best ICGT crews out there. “There will be a lot of extra competition but I’m sure my team is still really going to do very well. “I can’t wait!” 

K-Pax Lamborghini champions Pepper and Caldarelli can now just concentrate on racing in the GT World Challenge America season finale Indianapolis 8 Hour. The race doubles as the penultimate round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge by Pirelli, which series concludes with the Kyalami 9 Hour in December.